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INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON AGRARIAN REFORM AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Porto Alegre, 7-10 March 2006

NIGERIA - NATIONAL REPORT

GENERAL INFORMATION ON NIGERIA Nigeria, a country in West Africa has a projected population of about 150 million with an average population growth rate of about 2.7%. It occupies a land area of 923,768 square kilometers situated between Longitude 3o and 15o east, and Latitude 4o and 14o north. The country is bounded on the West by the Republic of Benin; on the East by the Cameroon Republic; on the North by Niger and Chad Republics and on the South by a vast coastline of the Atlantic Ocean. The landscape of Nigeria consists of lowlands, plains, highlands and plateaus. The lowlands are the coastal and the Niger Delta areas. Other lowlands include the undulating plains covering most part of the former Western Region and the Sokoto plains, which are characteristically uniform. The Chad basin located at the extreme northeast is a uniform plain land. The highlands are the Jos plateau, Mandara Mountains, Adamawa highlands and Obudu plateau. The River Niger flowing from the north-west joins its major tributary, the River Benue flowing from the northeast to form a confluence at Lokoja. Thereafter, the River Niger drains into the Atlantic Ocean after breaking into a network of tributaries called the Niger Delta. Other notable rivers include the Ogun, Shasha, Benin, Imo, Cross River, Kaduna, Sokoto, Shari, Hadejia, Komadugu, and Yobe rivers. Nigeria is richly endowed with diverse natural resources, which include agriculture, industry and mineral resources including oil and gas. There are two major seasons in Nigeria - the wet and dry seasons. The total annual rainfall decreases from 3,800mm at Forcados on the coast to below 650mm at Maiduguri in the north east of the country. The length of the rainy seasons also decreases from nearly 12months in the south to below 5months in the North. Nigeria has relatively high temperatures throughout the year. The average annual maximum varies from 350C in the north to 310C in the south while the average annual minimum ranges from 230C in the south to 180C in the north. Nigeria operates a federal structure of government, with the executive, legislative and judicial arms modelled after the American presidential system. The 1999 federal 2

constitution decentralized and distributed power among the federal, 36 states and 774 local governments. Both agriculture and rural development appear on the concurrent legislative lists. MAP OF NIGERIA

2.0

AN OVERVIEW OF THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR IN NIGERIA

In Nigeria, agriculture has remained the largest sector of the economy. It generates employment for about 70% of Nigerias population and contributes about 40% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with crops accounting for 80%, livestock 13%, forestry 3% and fishery 4%.. It plays significant roles in the nations economic development. These roles include: i. ii. iii. iv. v. vi. contribution to the countrys gross domestic product; source of income and decent living for a large proportion of the population; provision of adequate food for the people; supply of raw materials required by the industrial sector; generation of foreign exchange through export; provision of employment opportunities for the teeming population.

Nigeria has a land area of 98.3m hectares. At present about 34m hectares or 48% are under cultivation. Under the (1999) Constitution, responsibility for agricultural and rural development is shared among the federal, state and local governments. There is no doubt that considering the vast area of uncultivated land coupled with the natural fertility of its soil, Nigeria has great agricultural potentials. 3.0 PREDOMINANCE OF PEASANT FARMERS

To say then, that Nigerias economy is agrarian does not mean that Nigeria is agriculturally advanced. Peasant farming characterizes agricultural practice in Nigeria. Farming families engage in subsistence farming in which family needs determine the scale of production and wherein small plots of land are cultivated by individual owners or sub-owners following age-old methods without much control on the yields. Family farming uses mainly family labor which could be augmented with minor hiring of labor and labor exchanges with other farmers at peak seasons. The essential factors of production land, labor, and capital are provided within the family. This system does not

make adequate use of modern farming techniques, capital input, advisory services and market information. The technology of production is not modern and involves a lot of drudgery. Also there is the problem of lack of or inadequate infrastructural facilities. Peasant agriculture takes care mainly of the food needs of the farm family and produces little surplus for sale. This type of peasant agriculture involves 95% of Nigerian farmers, while farmers employed on corporate and government supported large-scale farms account for only 5 percent. 4.0 RECENT IMPROVEMENTS IN THE AGRICULTURAL SECTOR

Recently, some exciting developments are taking place in the agricultural sector, which should be consolidated. The sector is sustaining the 7% growth rate attained in 2003/2004. This was occasioned by some strategic programmes under the National Agricultural Policy, the National Policy on Integrated Rural Development and the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) which are being vigorously implemented in the various sub sectors within the limits of available resources. This paper will attempt to enumerate some of the experiences and achievements already being recorded under some of these strategic programmes: 4.1 The National Agricultural Policy

In an attempt to tackle the problems facing the Agricultural Sector in Nigeria, Government has put in place the National Agricultural Policy, which was jointly formulated by the national stakeholders and International Development Partners and approved by the Federal Government in 2002. The major components of the National Agricultural Policy feed the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) document. The National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) document adequately responds to the demands and strategies of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Specifically, the National Agricultural Policy assigns supportive roles to the government, while investments in the sector are left to the private sector initiative. The

broad objectives of the National Agricultural Policy include: Promotion of selfsufficiency in food and raw materials for industries; recognition that agriculture is business, hence a private sector concern where the role of government is to facilitate and support private sector initiatives; promoting reliance on local resources; diversification of the sources of foreign exchange earnings through increased agricultural exports arising from adoption of appropriate technologies in food production and distribution, which specifically responds to the needs of women, bearing in mind that they constitute over 50% of the labor force in agriculture. 4.2 Presidential Initiatives As part of the efforts being made to restore Nigerias Agriculture to its past eminent position in the economy, Mr. President had at various times organized fora where he met with relevant stakeholders in Rice, Vegetable oil, Sugar, Cassava, Tree crops and Livestock industry respectively. The fora aimed at identifying the peculiar problems confronting each industry and to chart the way forward. The various Presidential Committees established have produced blueprints to boost production and achieve self sufficiency within the shortest possible time and also generate surplus for export. Similar initiative on Fisheries and Aquaculture is being packaged. Detail of the initiatives is as follows: 4.2.1 Presidential Initiative on Rice Production, Processing and Export

The Presidential Initiative on increased Rice Production is designed to reverse the rising import bill, which stood at N96.012 billion in 2002 to meet domestic demand by 2006 and export by end of 2007. By 2007, it is targeted that 3.0 million hectares of land would be put under cultivation to produce about 15 million tones of paddy or 9.0 million tones of milled rice. In order to achieve this goal, Government has embarked on: Procurement and distribution of 81,505 R-Boxes to the States and FCT at 50% subsidy. The R-Box contains rice seeds, agro-chemicals and extension messages to farmers on its applications. The package is required to cultivate of an hectare of rice. Similarly, 250 units of Knapsack Sprayers have been distributed to farmers based on needs.

Production of 4.92 Mt of breeder seeds and 25.23mt of foundation seed stage 1 of NERICA I and 12.6mt of lowland varieties of foundation seed stage 1 by National Cereal Research Institute and West African Rice Development Association;

Production of 58mt of foundation seed of rice varieties by the National Seeds Service (NSS); Establishment of Management Training Plots (MTP) on R-Box in Twenty-five (25) states including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). About 1,250 farmers participated in the programme to showcase the benefits derivable from the use of the R-Box to accelerate its adoption by farmers;

Provision of irrigation infrastructure and construction of water reservoir at National Cereals Research Institute (NCRI), Badeggi for all year round breeder seed production;

Six (6Nos) train-the-trainer workshops for rice farmers and extension agents (one per geo-political zone) on rice production and processing technologies.

In order to upgrade the existing rice milling machines and establish local mills for the purpose of improving quality of local milled rice, some engineers and technicians were trained on the installation, operation and maintenance of modern rice mill. Similarly 370 extension agents from the six geo-political zones participated in the Train- theTrainer Workshop organized in all the zones on Rice Processing Technology. Nigeria was one of the three countries in the West African Sub-Region chosen for the celebration of International Year of Rice (IYR) in October 2004. The other countries are Sierra-Leon and Ghana. This is a confirmation that the efforts of Government in boosting rice production as an important staple in the Nigerian diet, is being acknowledged outside the Country. The National Cereal Research Institute (NCRI) Badeggi and the National Seed service (NSS) of the Federal Ministry of Agricultural and Rural Development have continued to collaborate with the West African Rice Development Association (WARDA) in an effort to multiply the NERICA rice seed for distribution to rice farmers nation-wide.

I am glad to inform you that the NERICA rice variety and the R-Box technology have impacted positively on increased rice productivity per hectare. This development accounted for the noticeable increase in national output from 3.0 million tones to over 4.0 million tones in 2004. 4.2.2 Presidential Initiative on the Development of Vegetable Oil

The objective of this programme is to attain self-sufficiency in vegetable oil production over a period of not exceeding 3 years. Under this programme, attention is being focused on the promotion of eleven scheduled oil seed crops over the period, among which are: oil palm, ground-nut, soyabean, beniseed, cotton, sunflower, cashew, coconut and cocoa. Production target was set for each crop under the programme as follows: Oil palm: 1 million hectares capable of producing 15 million fresh fruit bunches, Groundnut: 15 million tones annually, Soyabean: 670,000 to 1 million tones per annual, Seed Cotton: 1 million tones over the plan period In order to stimulate local production and achieve the set targets, Government has created enabling environment to encourage the organized private sector including the Oil Seed Processors Association of Nigeria (OSPAN), Vegetable Oil Development and Processors Association of Nigeria (VODPAN), Oil Palm Grower Association of Nigeria (OPGAN) and Plantation Owners Forum (POFON) to open up new plantations in the oil palm belt in order to increase the countrys capacity for edible oil production. With this programme in place, the local production has been able to sustain domestic consumption thus progressively achieving the set objective of the programme. It is note worthy that the price of vegetable oil has become favorable because the oil processing companies are up and doing. Other achievements recorded under this programme include the following; Production of sprouted oil palm nuts by the National Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR), Benin; RISONPALM; PRESSCO, etc for planting in 2005; 29.27 Mt of foundation seeds and 40.04mt of certified seeds of groundnut produced through private seed companies and NSS out-growers network were distributed in 2005; 8

64mt of chemically treated foundation and certified cottonseeds were procured and distributed for 2004 and additional 115.11mt for 2005 planting season; Produced 7tons of cotton foundation seeds for re-multiplication into certified seeds and 15.71tons of certified seeds for distribution to farmers; Trained 100 oil palm nursery operators and small processing equipment fabricators/machines operators at NIFOR, Benin; and A Vegetable Oil Development Programme (VODEP) Technical Committee was set up to handle the processing, quality control and marketing of vegetable oil in the country.

4.2.3

Presidential Initiative On Cassava Production And Export

Nigeria is currently the world leading producer of cassava, producing about 40million Mt. per annum. The country still has large capacity to expand cassava production in the country. Demand for Nigerias cassava has increased appreciably in recent years due to increased awareness on cassava utilisation. The presidential initiative on cassava production and export is therefore intended to raise the production level of cassava to 150million Mt by the end of year 2010. The programme is also expected to assist the country realize an income of US$5.0billion per annum from the export of 37.6million tons of dry cassava products such as starch, cassava chips, adhesives and other derivatives. The following activities have been carried out under this initiative: Organization of training workshop at the national center for agricultural mechanization (NCAM), Ilorin, Nigeria for identified fabricators from various states on existing machines and equipment for pelleting, chipping, flour and starch making Intensified publicity through the production, distribution and processing guides/posters, Development of equipment for the processing of various cassava products targeted for export market in collaboration with International Institute For Tropical Agriculture (IITA); Production and distribution off 576,000 bundles of improved cassava cuttings by State Agricultural Development Projects (ADPS) to farmers; 9

Production/procurement of planting materials such as breeder, foundation and certified stocks by the Root And Tuber Expansion Programme Management Unit (RTEP-MU), NRCRI, Umudike and IITA; Collaborated with local communities to establish pilot cassava processing centers in each LGA of the cassava producing states for subsequent replication and adoption.

The implementation of the Presidential Initiative on Cassava and the Roots and Tuber Expansion Programme (RTEP) have impacted positively on cassava production. It is worthy to note that the output of cassava has increased from 35million metric tones in 2001 to about 42million metric tones in 2004. This has made it possible for Nigeria to export garri to Sierra-Leone and other areas of the West African sub-region without affecting domestic consumption. Domestic utilization and consumption of cassava is being promoted as part of efforts to guarantee ready market for cassava producers. To this end, legislation has been put in place, which makes it mandatory for flour millers and bakers to incorporate a minimum of 10% high quality cassava flour in bakery production and confectionaries. 4.3 National Cocoa Development Programme

This programme aims at reviving and restoring cocoa production and marketing in Nigeria to its past glory. In 1999, a National Cocoa Development Committee involving the 14 cocoa producing States was set up to promote cocoa production. The programme involves the planting and rehabilitation of old plantations and setting up of new ones. Within the short period of operations, the Committee has made remarkable achievements. Notable among these achievements is the increase in cocoa production, sensitization and training of cocoa farmers, sensitization for increase in local consumption, and renewed efforts in cocoa research through the revitalization of the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN).

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In 2005, the fourteen cocoa producing States raised a total of 5,976,854 seedlings which can plant 5,454 ha of new cocoa farm and were distributed free of change to farmers. Old plantations were also rehabilitated through the application of agrochemicals and better husbandry practices. In order to sustain and improve on these performances, the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria launched a special programme tagged Cocoa Rebirth in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria in order to create awareness of the wealth creation potentials of cocoa, promote increase in production, attract youth into cocoa cultivation, and help raise funds for thee development of the industry. A similar one was also held in Yola, Adamawa State, Nigeria. As a follow up to the Cocoa Rebirth event and in line with Mr. Presidents directive, a National Cocoa Day will take place in the second week of February, every year with effect from 2006. Cocoa production has virtually doubled from 170 million metric tones to over 300 million metric tones within a period of three years. Effort is also on to promote the production of hydrocarbon free jute bags locally through improved kenaf production.

4.4

National Special Programme for Food Security (NSPFS)

In 2002, Nigeria in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) launched an ambitious National Special Programme for Food Security (NSPFS). It aims at attaining sustainable food security, employment generation, eradication of rural poverty through the adoption of improved technology to boost production; strengthening of research and extension services; effective utilization of land and water; development of aquaculture; small ruminants and post-harvest management. Currently, the programme is being executed as enclave projects in 109 sites, one per Senatorial District, throughout the Federation. The programme focuses on the application of innovative low cost approaches to improving the productivity and sustainability of agricultural systems with the ultimate aim of contributing to Food sufficiency and better livelihood of the poor rural farmers. It is being expanded to cover 327 sites by 2006. The success stories of the program attracted a high-level visit of Hon. Ministers of Agriculture from FAO member states in April 2004 to some of the SPFS sites in Nigeria. The general 11

performances of the programme in relation with the set targets have been very commendable and the achievements so far include the following: Supported about 1,357.9 hectares under irrigation farming with about 2800 beneficiaries. Sunk 296 Tube wells and 77 wash bores with 603 units of irrigation pumps distributed to participating farmers. Purchased 1000 units of 2 petrol engine pumps and 208 units of 3 diesel pumps that were distributed to farmers on cost recovery basis. 92000 meters of pvc-pipes with complete accessories were also procured. Drilled about 52 boreholes, 70 open wells and 5 micro earth dams to improve access to water. A total of 123,764 beneficiaries cultivated 13442.59 hectares under rain fed cropping with sole and mixed cropping patterns practiced. A total of 95 assorted field demonstration trials including replicates were carried out and the participating farmers are already adopting the extended innovations. About 12,764 beneficiaries benefited from agricultural inputs. Distributed about 5199.11 MT of fertilizers, 126 MT of micronutrient fertilizers and lime. Also distributed were 25283 lts, and 484kg of agro-chemicals, 181098 cassava bundles, 1,354,583 yam seeds and 78159 improved breeds of livestock among others. A total of 1390 participants benefited from 689 assorted processing equipment including women who engage in processing activities. Carried out 30 assorted demonstrations on homestead gardening, feeding practices, and micronutrient deficiencies etc. Completed the renovation of the 50,000 capacity fertilizer Quality Control Laboratory in Kaduna while 2 pilot communal grazing lands were rehabilitated in two states.

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4.5

A total of 655 various trainings were carried out with about 9736 beneficiaries. South-South Cooperation (SSC)

In March 2003, the Federal Government of Nigeria signed a Tripartite South-South Agreement with FAO and China within the framework of NSPFS to build and rehabilitate small-scale water control irrigation schemes. The South-South Agreement is to allow member countries to take advantage of each others areas of excellence in agriculture to achieve food security objective and improve farmers productivity and income. With the agreement, the services of 524 Chinese Experts and technicians are to be provided for agricultural development in the 36 states of the Federation and Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The total Cost of the programme is USD $22.4 million out of which 50% has been released by the Federal Government. To date, more than 375 Chinese technicians including seven experts and a coordinator have arrived in the country and deployed to all states based on need. These Chinese have started activities on various projects including small scale earth dam construction and rehabilitation, fisheries, irrigation, agroprocessing, agricultural mechanization and livestock production. The interventions of these Chinese technicians have generally been considered positive. 4.8 Second National Fadama Development Project (NFDP-II)

National Fadama II is a follow-up on the project of the National Fadama Development Project I (NFDP-I). The main trust of NFDP-II is to sustainably increase the incomes of all-inclusive fadama users namely, farmers, pastoralist, fisher folks, hunter, gatherer, and service providers, through empowering communities to take charge of their own development agenda and by reducing conflicts among users. The project is being implemented in 12 states of Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Imo, Kaduna, Kebbi, Lagos, Niger, Ogun, Oyo, Taraba and the FCT with US$100m World Bank credit. The African Development Bank (ADB) is co-financing six states of Borno, 13

Plateau, Katsina, Kogi, Kwara and Jigawa. They have met the eligibility criteria with an equivalent of US$30 million under parallel financing arrangement. Some of the key achievements of the project are as follows: Introduction of Chinese proven integrated production systems such as integrated rice-fish farming, poultry fish farming, integrated vegetablelivestock-fish production systems; Post construction community based activities (erosion control, irrigation, tree/grass planting, fisheries etc.) Introduction of new technologies to the Nigeria environment: walking tractors, High yielding Rice varieties, utilization of neem seeds, food processing (noodles, snacks etc), fruit/vegetable preservation, Introduction of all year round vegetable production. Introduction of low cost technologies: e.g. poultry battery cages, production of green silage for dry season livestock feeding, day old chick/hatchable eggs production, etc. Assisting various Fadama Community Associations/groups to support community projects such as Fadama access roads, markets stalls, processing equipments, water pump, tube wells/wash bores, boreholes, fishing equipment and advisory services and capacity building activities. 4.9 Community Based Agriculture and Rural Development Programme (CBARDP) The programme took off in March 2003 to improve the livelihood and living conditions of the rural communities with emphasis on women and other vulnerable groups within the programme area. Viz: Jigawa, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, Yobe, Zamfara and Borno States. The programme covers about 234 villages across these States. The thrust of the programme is to use IFAD and other external funds to mobilize the significant resources available at the different levels of Government in Nigeria and channel them efficiently towards the poor and vulnerable groups of rural communities to implement priority activities identified by the community. This is being pursued through two main 14

components namely Awareness and Capacity building; and community Development. The achievements so far recorded since inception have been very encouraging. 4.10 Multinational NERICA Rice Dissemination Project

Nigeria is implementing a Multinational NERICA Rice Dissemination Project, (MNRDP). This is an African Development Bank (ADB) sponsored Project which commenced in April 2004. The NERICA improved technology is unique and promising to upland or dry-land rice farmers in the Sub-Saharan Africa. The project is being implemented on a pilot basis, in six states, namely Kaduna, Nasarawa, Taraba, Ekiti, Ondo and Ogun. There are seven West Africa countries participating in the project and they are Benin, Guinea, the Gambia, Ghana, Mali, Sierra-Leone and Nigeria, hence its multinational nature. The four components of the project are Technology Transfer, Production Support, Capacity Building and project Coordination. It is estimated that 65,000 rice farm families will directly benefit from the project. The project will enable about 108,000 ha of incremental land to be put under rice cultivation, resulting in the incremental production of 162,000 metric tones of rice by the end of the project life of five years. Some of the achievements made under the project include: i. ii. iii. the states. iv. About 82 ha were put under cultivation, to yield an estimated 164 MT of seed. 275 kg of pure NERICA- I seed distributed to all the participating states, The project produced some 3.5 MT of Seed in year 2004 using the In 2005, a total of 328 NERI-Boxes (of NERICA-I seed) were distributed to

Community Based Seed Multiplication System.

4.11

Nigeria Agricultural Market Information Service (NAMIS)

Nigeria Agricultural Market Information Service (NAMIS) was established in a phased manner in 2004 following the signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) by Project Coordinating Unit (PCU), International Fertilizer Development Centre (IFDC) and National Special Programme on Food Security (NSPFS). The objective of NAMIS is to manage a

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demand driven National Agricultural Market Information service in Nigeria based on PublicPrivate Sector Partnership arrangement which serve the agricultural information need of the users. The programme has recorded remarkable achievements since its commencement. 4.12 Agricultural Insurance

The Nigeria Agricultural Insurance Scheme is vital to Governments effort in ensuring food sufficiency and poverty alleviation in the country generally and in the rural areas in particular. The Scheme was established in 1987 to address the issue of risks facing farmers as a result of natural disasters such as drought, flood, pest and diseases, etc. The Scheme was designed to, among other things, make agricultural investments more secured such that financial institutions will be willing to put in more funds in the agricultural sector thereby stabilizing investments in the Sector. The Scheme operates on the basis of premium subsidy, whereby the farmers pays 50% chargeable premium while the remaining 50% is shared between the Federal Government and the relevant State Government in the proportions of 37.5% and 12.5% respectively for investments that fall under the subsidized category. Most food crops and livestock items enjoy the 50% subsidy whilst others are placed in the nonsubsidized category, meaning that full premium will be collected on such projects. Between May 2004 to date the scheme has recorded the following achievements: The scheme continues to maintain its covers on almost all the crops and livestock items obtainable in the Country. Scopes of coverage has widened from the earlier ones to include exotic animals such as horses, guard dogs, Snailry, Rabbitry, Bee keeping and Horticulture. There has also been an improvement in the Corporations non-life conventional risk portfolios including: Fire, Burglary, Motor, Contractors-All-Risk, Goods-in-Transit, Marine, Bonds, etc. The total risk volume borne by the Corporation, during the period has significantly increased. The scheme has encouraged lending institutions to lend more to the agricultural sector, especially to small and medium scale farmers. The claims

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settlement has also significantly aided the credit recovery drive of the lending institutions, which has allowed more farmers to benefit. The scheme has built the confidence of farmers who were hitherto afraid of changing out-model productive systems to adopt new technologies which has led to greater yields. The Corporation, as part of an aggressive drive towards public enlightenment, has opened up a web site. This is to enable easy access to the products and services of the Corporation by the public. Anyone willing to do business with the Corporation from anywhere on the globe can get across at: www.nigerianagricinsurance.com. 4.13 Agricultural Credit The Nigerian Agricultural Cooperative and Rural Development Bank (NACRDB) has been restructured and is being recapitalized for greater efficiency and to provide credits to individual farmers, cooperatives societies/bodies for all classes of agricultural projects. The Bank is also concentrating on the promotion of its popular group lending scheme whereby a much higher proportion of the active farming population is being reached by its retail outlets across its six Zonal offices. The Bank Management is supporting the new policy orientation of the present administration regarding poverty alleviation by emphasizing micro credit. The Bank is now strongly committed to the promotion of grass roots based, small and medium farming activities in the country. The on going injection of N50 billion equity shares into NACRBD by the Federal Government is to empower the Bank to meet the challenges of poverty alleviation and food production through timely disbursement of credits. The bank is also supporting the promotion of Animal Traction and Hand Tool Technology. It has instituted several credits and savings schemes for farmers and rural dwellers that constitute about 70% of the nations population. The year 2005 posed some serious challenges much of which the bank has been able to tackle with reasonable level of success

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There is no gainsaying the fact that the impact of the banks activities on rural economy has been enormous and multifaceted. Through the credit delivery, the bank has enhanced agricultural productivity in terms of increased food and raw materials for Agro-based industries and marketing activities. The intervention has strengthened the foundation for improvement of the countrys agriculture and the economic base. The disbursement of N4.52 billion into the rural economy within the year has actually resulted in the following: Increased capacity utilization for the agro-allied projects as a result of availability of raw materials; Increased usage of the land resources that had been fallow for long due to lack of finance; Increased exportation of agricultural produce with the attendant foreign exchange earnings; and Stimulation of new ventures and impetus for improvement of agricultural technology especially, in the area of post harvest.

5.0

AN OVERVIEW OF THE RURAL SECTOR

The Nigerian rural sector, with abundance of human and natural resources accommodate 70 per cent of the nations population. Yet, Nigerian rural communities are lacking in infrastructural facilities such as roads, potable water supply and sanitation, energy, communication, health, education facilities etc. It is estimated that 85% of the extremely poor in Nigeria currently live in rural areas. Nevertheless, the rural sector is predominantly agriculture-based (including livestock, forestry and fisheries). It employs about 75% of the labor force and contributes about 40% of the GDP.

6.0 RECENT ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE RURAL DEVELOPMENT SECTOR

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The main mandate of the rural development sector is to develop the rural sector in a coordinated and sustainable manner, with a view to mainstreaming the rural dwellers into national development. This is being pursued through a community driven participatory approach. In the same vein, selected rural communities in each Federal Constituency in the Country are to be transformed into Model Rural Communities by providing them with enabling rural infrastructure to complement the isolated interventions of other line Ministries and Agencies. Recent developments in the sector include the following: 6.1 The National Integrated Rural Development Policy and Strategy

In an attempt to tackle the problems facing the Rural Sector in Nigeria, on 11th December 2001, the Federal Government of Nigeria launched the National Policy on Integrated Rural Development. This policy was formulated in collaboration with the World Bank and other development partners. It aims at developing the rural areas in a more coordinated and sustainable manner to achieve national food security, improve income generation and alleviate rural poverty. Communities are being mobilized and projects monitored effectively to achieve the desired impacts on the grassroots. Rural industrialization and other productive activities are being promoted for transformation of the rural sector. On the rural enterprises and skills development, women groups are being mobilized to participate in the rural development projects. The new Policy looks beyond addressing rural development from purely agricultural point of view. Instead, it incorporates the complex linkages between the social sector, infrastructure, governance, and the farm and non-farm economy. The overall objectives of the Policy are: developing the rural areas, raising the quality of life of the rural people, alleviating rural poverty and using rural development to lay a solid foundation for national development. 6.2 Rural Development Strategy for Nigeria

The Department of Rural Development also collaborated with the World Bank and other international development partners in developing the Rural Development strategy for Nigeria (RDSN) to provide an appropriate framework and guidance for the

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implementation of the National Policy on Integrated Rural Development (NPIRD) as well as for providing modalities for future support and intervention in priority areas of rural development programmes. The Rural Development Strategy was finalized on May 4th, 2001 and was launched by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on 11th December 2001. The National Policy and Strategy on Integrated Rural Development are being implemented at various levels of government by directing attention on the following four priority areas of intervention in rural development: a. Enhancement of enabling rural infrastructure: The federal government continues to encourage and assist States, Local Government Areas (LGAs) and Communities in their infrastructural development efforts such as provision of rural roads, jetties, solar electrification, borehole water supply and multi-purpose (skills development and communication) centers to stimulate sustainable growth and development. Rural Access and Mobility Project (RAMP): The Federal Government of Nigeria is currently requesting for assistance of the World Bank (WB) and African Development Bank (ADB) to develop adequate rural access and mobility. The project aims at providing good roads and riverine access to farming and fishing communities, training rural dwellers on the maintenance of the roads/riverine access and developing entrepreneurship of rural dwellers for income generation and poverty reduction. b. Promotion of Rural Productive Activities: This involves promotion of resourcebased, income generating, small-scale farm and non-farm productive activities including agro-based rural industries, arts and crafts aimed at creating wealth and generating gainful employment in the rural areas. c. Supportive Human Resource Development: The Federal Government collaborates with States, Local Government Areas (LGAs), Communities, NGOs and Organized Private Sector (OPS) in rural community organization and mobilization, rural community-based mass literacy, skills development and training, nutrition education and HIV/AIDS sensitization in the rural areas, which include

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production and distribution of Information, Educational and Communication (IEC) materials for use in HIV/AIDS prevention and management programmes. d. Special programs for Target Groups: While marginalization, deprivation and poverty are pronounced in some rural community, some social groups and geographic areas suffer worse conditions than others do. The most significant of these are women, youth, children, the aged and the handicapped. to address the affected groups. 7.0 Government Incentives to Investors In order to stimulate and encourage local and foreign investors in the sector, the Federal Government has put in place a regime of incentives to stimulate and attract private investments in Nigerian Agriculture. include: i. ii. iii. iv. v. Zero tariff rate on importation of Agricultural chemicals Duty free importation on spare parts of processing machinery Tax free dividends for a period of 5 years for Agricultural production and processing in Nigeria. Tax free on agricultural loans with moratorium period of over 18 months and repayment period of not more than 7 years Tax relief for 5 years for Pioneer Industries engaged in cultivation, processing and preservation of food crops and fruits; Integrated Dairy; Deep sea Trawling and Processing; Manufacture of Fertilizers, Fishing Nets from local raw materials; Rubber, Gum Arabic as well as large scale farming of Wheat, Maize, Rice and Sorghum. vi. Removal of Import and Export restrictions on agricultural products and the creation of a liberalized trading environment as incentive to investment in Agriculture. vii. Consistency in agricultural policies within a stable macro economic framework. These incentives among others A special programme is being implemented by the Federal Department of Rural Development

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8.0 Viable Institutional Support: The Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria established some viable institutions to give necessary support to agriculture and rural development in the area of research, capacity building, investment promotion, micro-credit to boost agricultural production alleviate poverty and develop the rural area. They include: a. b. c. Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme which guarantees and provides agricultural loans and credit to small and medium scale farmers. Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation, which provides risk cover for crops, livestock and fisheries against natural hazards. Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement, which provides a legal framework for the protection of foreign investment in Nigerian Economy. d. Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission promotes and coordinates investments in the Nigerian Economy with a view to remove the bureaucratic bottlenecks and hindrances in the process of establishing business ventures in Nigeria. e. Small and Medium Scale Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria to (SMEDAN) provide micro credit. Etc.

9.0 Land Use and Rural Development: As it is the case in many developing countries, Nigeria had been confronted with the problems of rural poverty and high unemployment rate resulting to rural-urban drift of our citizens with the consequence of severe pressure on the rural infrastructure. To reverse this trend, the Federal Government of Nigeria has in the past few years, geared its efforts towards the development of the rural areas through improvement of rural roads, provision of rural electricity, telecommunication, potable water, social infrastructure and encouragement of the establishment of agro-based industries in the rural areas to create employment and income generating activities. Nigeria is in full support of the five main themes identified for deliberation at the FAO Agrarian Reform and Rural Development conference, in particular, the emphasis placed on access to land by the poor. The access to farm land by the rural farmers in Nigeria is guaranteed through the provision of the 22

Land Use Act which vests the ownership of land on the Federal and State Governments. The state governments develop and allocate farm land to rural farmers for agricultural activities. 10.0 Conclusion.

Agriculture remains the bedrock of Nigerian economy. However, in spite of the Countrys endowment in agricultural resources, the potential of the sector is yet to be fully realized. There is no gainsaying the fact that the present administration of His Excellency, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR has made a giant stride in revitalizing the Nigeria Agriculture and the development of the rural area. The administration has created an enabling environment to stimulate investment by local and foreign investors in agriculture and rural development. Government is also encouraging Public-Private Sector Participation in Agriculture and Rural development.

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